Fred Manteghian

Sort By: Post Date | Title | Publish Date
CES 2009
TV on Wheels
Fred Manteghian  |  Jan 06, 2008  |  0 comments

Kenwood is working with LG and their MPH (mobile video) project team to develop a mobile digital television receiver, and I don't mean a 13" Sanyo on a hospital cart either. Hook up a Kenwood receiver to an LCD in your car, and you'll be able to zoom around the country picking up digital TV signals optimized for easy reception while traveling. I'll know more soon (like what it looks like), but seeing it work in their booth won't tell me how well it works driving around city streets or cruising down the highway. Vroom Vroom.

Continue Reading >
CES 2009
TVs with Laser Beams On Them– Is That Too Much To Ask For?
Fred Manteghian  |  Jan 08, 2008  |  2 comments

Last night, Mitsubishi took the Moon nightclub on the roof of the Palms Casino and turned it into a discothque to premier their long in development laser TV. Using fanfare fitting the unveiling of a major work of art (which in a way, it was), Mitsubishi lit up three of their rear projector laser engine TVs. They were at least 65" in diagonal, though we weren't told an exact size. Each was also about as thin as the thinnest DLP or LCD rear project TVs.

Continue Reading >
Two Wheel Drive
Fred Manteghian  |  Sep 16, 2006  |  0 comments

ProjectionDesign has a unique solution for high end custom installer. Their Action Model Three 1080 projector, using a single 1080p DLP chip, but is equipped with two lamps and two color wheels. In other words, the projector has two light paths that are recombined before being sent out the lens. ProjectionDesign claims that this eliminates rainbows, and in ten minutes of viewing, I only saw one rainbow that wasn't caused by rapidly turning my head. I'm real sensitive to color rainbows, so I'll have to say they succeeded.

Continue Reading >
Fred Manteghian Blog
Ultrasone Pro 900 Headphones - Review
Fred Manteghian  |  Nov 11, 2009  |  2 comments

Germany's Autobahn has no speed limits and the Pro 900 headphones from Germany's Ultrasone have no sound limits either! And like anything good (and German), you're going to pay. They were about $550 on Amazon last I checked (MSRP is $599). I've had a pair since early spring, but didn't crack them open until I went on vacation in July. Sure, I listen to a lot of music every day with earphones, but not much with headphones. But all that's changed since the Ultrasone Pro 900's entered my life!

Continue Reading >
Fred Manteghian Blog
Using Simple Products You'll Find Around Your House
Fred Manteghian  |  Sep 23, 2006  |  0 comments

Out with the old and in with the new.

Continue Reading >
CEDIA 2013
V is for Vertically
Fred Manteghian  |  Sep 26, 2013  |  0 comments
The KEF V300, part of a KEF’s new V series, is a nice desktop system for anybody with a tall monitor. The three piece system is comprised of two tall, narrow and relatively thin (about 3”) free-standing speaker panels. Driving them is a control unit that features two 50 watt Class D amplifiers. Each speaker has two 3-1/4” low frequency drivers and between them a 3-1/4” Uni-Q driver that fills in the midrange and high frequencies. The control amplifier has a single HDMI input and an optical digital input. Hooked to your TV’s HDMI audio return channel, you would control the volume by your TV’s remote. This ensemble looked very attractive, and being KEF, I would expect a clean seductive sound, albeit one unable to alter the laws of physics in the bass. For that, KEF has left you with a subwoofer output (RCA) on the rear of the control amplifier.
V, Inc. Bravo D2 DVD player
Fred Manteghian  |  Oct 15, 2004  |  1 comments

V, Inc.'s Bravo D1 was the first inexpensive ($199) DVI-equipped DVD player on the market. The D2 is V, Inc.'s response to a little competition from some bigger names in the field, but nobody can beat the D2's price: $249. If you're still not hip to what DVI is, it's probably because you don't have a DVI input on your TV or projector. Simply put, the Digital Visual Interface (DVI) keeps the video signal in the digital domain all the way from the disc to your TV. And if you're the owner of a new plasma or LCD panel, or a DLP or LCD front or rear projector with a DVI input, you should be very excited indeed.

Continue Reading >
CES 2009
What a Difference a Tube Makes
Fred Manteghian  |  Jan 12, 2008  |  0 comments

When I saw the Escalante Design Fremont speaker at <a href="http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/he2007/051207fremont/" target="new">HE 2007</a>, I was mightily impressed with their neutrality and precise bass. Fast forward to CES 2008, and things were different. While the midrange and upper frequencies were still sublime, the switch to KR Audio tube monoblocks, from the VTL Reference S-400 stereo amplifier were a mistake as for all of KR's other virtues, bass control was not one of them. Still, one of the better sounds at the show.

Continue Reading >
Fred Manteghian Blog
What If They Had A War And No One Showed Up?
Fred Manteghian  |  Jan 26, 2006  |  1 comments

I was in Florida last year at a friend’s house and dropped into a Best Buy to get some music or movies for us. I asked the first sales associate foolish enough to make eye contact where the SACDs were. He didn’t know what I meant. “The CDs?” – no, the SACDs.

Continue Reading >
Fred Manteghian Blog
What This Country Needs Is A Good Five Cent Photo Spectrometer
Fred Manteghian  |  Dec 03, 2005  |  1 comments

Michael Fremer is bitching (what’s new) about Sony giving owners of their $5,000 <A HREF=" http://ultimateavmag.com/rearprojectiontvs/1105sony/"> SXRD rear projection display</A> the ability to actually tweak it, and tweak it good. Mikey, I say, Hallelujah, and what-the-hell’s-it-to-ya’? It’s not like the good old days where you could really damage a CRT if you cranked the contrast up too much. In fact that’s what manufacturer used to do to make their sets stand out at Bob’s TV and Refrigerator Warehouse. It’s also why, until rear projection LCD and DLP projectors came along, I never recommended anyone buy a floor model.

Continue Reading >

Pages

X